2009

Toronto, ON – The Texas Stars (31-19-3-4, 69 points) were defeated by the Toronto Marlies (22-26-5-5, 54 points) 2-1 on Friday night in front of 3,742 fans at Ricoh Coliseum. The Marlies built a 2-0 lead through two periods play and held off a late Texas surge for the victory. Toronto goalie Joey MacDonald (10-16-3) stopped 21 of 22, helping the Marlies improve to 15-8-3-2 at home this season. Despite making 31 saves on 33 shots, Texas goalie Richard Bachman (3-2-0) suffered the loss. Stars forward Perttu Lindgren scored the lone Texas goal, as the Stars slid to 15-9-2-2 on the road. Toronto’s Ben Ondrus and Josh Engel scored to lead the Marlies. Texas will play in Grand Rapids on Sunday at 3:00 PM (CST).

Toronto started the scoring at 8:15 of the first period with the only tally of the opening frame. Toronto forward Ben Simon snagged the puck along the Texas boards and dropped a pass off for Ben Ondrus. From the top of the left-wing circle, Ondrus snapped his fifth goal of the season over the shoulder of Texas goalie Richard Bachman for the 1-0 lead after one period of play. The Marlies outshot the Stars 18-5 in opening period.

In the second period, the Marlies extended their lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 4:10. Left wing Kyle Calder snapped a pass to the backdoor for Josh Engel. The Toronto defender fired a shot that deflected off Texas goalie Richard Bachman and into the net for his third goal of the year.

In the third period, Texas made a late surge to cut the Toronto lead to 2-1. Travis Morin found Perttu Lindgren for a one-timer in the right wing circle. Lindgren’s tenth of the year was scored at 15:43 and brought the Stars within a goal, ending Joey MacDonald’s shutout bid.

The Texas Stars announced prior to the game on Friday that the team has signed defenseman Ethan Graham to a PTO (professional tryout agreement).

Graham joins the Texas Stars from the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL, where he’s played in 18 games this season, totaling two goals and nine assists for 11 points. The third-year defender also played for the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals and Milwaukee Admirals this year. Graham was scoreless in one game with Milwaukee and tallied four points (1g-3a) in 16 games with Norfolk.

In all, the Xenia, OH native has played in 155 professional games, including 91 AHL contests. In 2007-08, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder played in 47 games with the Iowa Stars as a rookie. In 2008-09, Graham played in 27 games for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. For his AHL career, the defenseman has eight assists and ten points. Graham played his college hockey at Michigan State University, winning a National Title in 2007.

Texas continues a five-game road trip at Grand Rapids on Sunday, February 21st for a game at 3:00 PM (CST). The Stars will play one more road game on Tuesday at Peoria before returning home. The team returns home on Friday, February 26th at 7:30 PM to host the Houston Aeros in the State Farm Lone Star Faceoff. The first 3,000 fans receive an Austin Diamond District Ice Girls poster and the Ice Girls will host a post-game meet and greet. On Friday, February 26th, Cedar Park Center will provide $2.00 domestic drafts and $1.00 hot dogs. All games can be heard on the Stars flagship station ESPNAustin 104.9 FM “The Horn” or ESPNAustin 1530-AM.

Tickets for any of the Stars 40 regular season home games at Cedar Park Center are on sale, starting as low as $9.00 a seat. Individual game tickets may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000, by going online at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting any local Ticketmaster outlet.

Season ticket packages to see the Stars play their Inaugural season at the Cedar Park Center are on sale now, starting as low as $12.00 a seat. For more information on Texas Stars season tickets call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit www.TexasStarsHockey.com. Anyone interested in purchasing season tickets, suites, group tickets or mini-plans may call the Texas Stars front office.